Archaeologists say Fairview Park work might hurt site

Sept. 27, 2013

Updated Sept. 29, 2013 7:11 p.m.

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Cal State Los Angeles Professor Emeritus Pat Martz holds up the a sea shell found at Fairview Park on the bluff overlooking the Santa Ana River channel. Native Americans lived on the bluff at what is present-day Fairview Park. STUART PALLEY, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Cal State Fullerton Professor of Anthropology Steven James holds up the spiral portion of a sea shell found at Fairview Park on the bluff overlooking the Santa Ana River channel. Native Americans lived on the bluff at what is present-day Fairview Park. STUART PALLEY, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Cal State Los Angeles Professor Emeritus Pat Martz, left, and archeologist Sylvere Valentin, right, at Fairview Park on the bluff overlooking the Santa Ana River channel. Native Americans lived on the bluff at what is present-day Fairview Park. and Martz is holding a sea shell that demonstrates their presence in the area historically. STUART PALLEY, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A fence post installed by the City of Costa Mesa alongside the bluffs at Fairview Park displaced soil that is part of a Native American archeological site, according to archeologists wishing to preserve the area. STUART PALLEY, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Various sea shells were used for food, tools, or jewelry by Native Americans who lived on the bluffs above the Santa Ana River in what is now Fairview Park in Costa Mesa. STUART PALLEY, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Cal State Los Angeles Professor Emeritus Pat Martz holds up the a sea shell found at Fairview Park on the bluff overlooking the Santa Ana River channel. Native Americans lived on the bluff at what is present-day Fairview Park. STUART PALLEY, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

If you go

What: The Fairview Park Advisory Committee will meet, and archaeologist will speak about the cultural sites.

When: Wednesday, 6 p.m.

Where: Neighborhood Community Center (NCC)

1845 Park Ave., Costa Mesa

COSTA MESA – The city might have approved plans to build on top of a historic American Indian archeological site at Fairview Park, according to archaeologists who are urging the city to re-examine the area around Pacific Avenue before building a turnaround and adding entryway improvements to three different areas of the park.

The city should consider conducting an updated environmental review before moving forward with plans to begin construction near the site, which is a former Native American village, the California Office of Historic Preservation wrote in a letter to city CEO Tom Hatch earlier this week.

Recent archaeological evidence suggests that the site may actually extend beyond its defined boundaries, so the recently approved construction could harm it, said Lucinda Woodward, a state historian and supervisor of the local government unit of the Office of Historic Preservation.

Small white fragments speckle the dirt throughout the open area along the southern edge of the park, by Pacific Avenue. These are remnants of clam shells, from Native American food, said archaeologist and California State University, Los Angeles professor emeritus Patricia Martz.

There’s also a discoloration in the dirt that gophers and drilling brings to the surface from below, which is evidence of remains from fire, charcoal, grease and decomposed garbage, said Martz, who is also the president and founder of the California Cultural Resources Preservation Alliance.

The city will hire an archaeological firm by next week to review the letter and advise the city, said Costa Mesa public services director Ernesto Munoz.

“We want to make sure we have the expertise to be able to respond to all those issues,” Munoz said. “So until we have that person on board, we will not be able to respond to the letter.”

Woodward said there was no evidence that planners had consulted with American Indian governments, and encouraged the city in the letter to reach out to the Gabrielino and Juaneño tribes before cementing plans.

The Fairview Park sites are also home to at least one Native American burial ground, Martz said.

“We consider them a repository for our history … and our cultural values,” said Rebecca Robles, a descendant of the Acjachemen nation, which included the Juaneño band. She is also a board member for the California Cultural Resources Preservation Alliance.

The site, identified as “ORA-58,” has been a part of the National Register of Historic Places since 1972. Fairview Park is home to two other known archaeological sites, the last of which was defined in 1993.

The last assessment of environmental impacts from the Fairview Park Master Plan occurred 16 years ago. That’s when the city completed a “mitigated negative declaration,” which essentially means the project would not have significant environmental impacts.

“It is obvious that what is needed are project plans that superimpose proposed trails, buildings, parking lots, trenching and other activities over the information that we know today about ORA-58 and other cultural resources that extend over the top of the bluff, outside of the boundaries sestablished first in 1967, 1972 and then in 1993,” the letter says.

The letter does not say that the proposed park construction will definitely have a negative effect on the site, but suggests that the city should determine whether environmental standards have changed since they last assessed the area.

The letter also reminded the city that the Office of Historic Preservation must be consulted if the city receives federal funding for construction. The city has applied for federal dollars for park development.

Woodward reviewed Fairview Park documents, including the 1998 Master Plan and the 1997 study that denied a need for an environmental impact report, after Martz and another archaeologist who spoke at a recent City Council meeting contacted her office regarding the construction, Woodward said.

City Council approved plans to build a turnaround at the end of Pacific Avenue, improve entryways and add a playground, during their Sept. 17 meeting. The vote was 3-2, with council members Sandra Genis and Wendy Leece voting against.

Genis said at the meeting that she was surprised to hear about the possible archaeological impacts, and that they should be examined further.

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